Abandon All Hope
by The Stalker In Your Closet
Summary: He's controlled her all her life, and she didn't know. Noel x Hazama Three-Shot. AU. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Noel was just eight years old when her family was taken from her.

_"No!" Noel shouted at the bad man. He was hurting her family. He was punching, and kicking, and stabbing her family. There was some blood. Some of it was her father's... some her mother's... but none of the bad man's. She couldn't move. Noel was in a corner, huddled into a ball. She couldn't move. That bad man was hurting her family._

_He was kicking her mommy. "Shut!" Kick. "Up!" Kick. "You!" Kick. "Little!" Kick. "Brat!" Stomp. With ever kick, Noel flinched. Why couldn't that bad man just leave them alone? If his family was hurt, he would scream, too._

_Noel's mother screamed as he crushed her hand with his foot. "Aww. Looks like someone going to have to see a doctor!" he taunted her, "I guess she got the screaming from you. How!? You aren't even her biological mother!" Her hand was broken for sure; the fingers were pointing in odd angles. Noel could feel the pain her mother was suffering. She didn't pay attention to what the bad man was saying. She was staring at her pinky. How could it bend that way?_

_He stepped off of her hand, and quickly grabbed her neck. Noel's mother gasped as he pulled her to her knees... her feet... and finally lifted her into the air. The bad man was choking her. Why was the bad man choking her? And Noel couldn't do anything about it._

_"Mommy!" Noel shouted. She was paralyzed. She couldn't move. Everything has been well. She was dressed up in a plaid skirt with a pink polo shirt, ready to go to her grandmother's house. There was a knock at the door, and her father answered it. Everyone thought it was the mailman... but it was this bad man. He stabbed her father, allowing him to have no last words._

_Her mother saw it, the murder. She rushed her little Noel into the living room with her, but the man was quick. He punched her mother, beat her until she bled. Noel couldn't move. The bad man was hurting her family. She just couldn't move..._

_Her mother knew was nearly the end for her. "Noel..." she choked out before his other hand grabbed the top of her head, "run." Just as she mutter those words, the bad man twisted her neck with a disturbing crunch. Her body fell, the carpet absorbing the blood._

_Noel, without turning back, ran down the hallway. Door after door lead to bedrooms, bathrooms, storage rooms, the laundry room... but the door all the way at the end of the long, long hallway lead to the backyard. To freedom._

_"Not so fast, you little brat." The voice sent chills up her spine as the bad man appeared in front of her. How could he do that?_

_She yelped. The bad man startled her, and she felt scared and confused. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Noel stepped back. She could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and a wicked grin slowly spread across his face._

_"Leave... leave me alone!" She was trembling. She didn't do anything - couldn't do anything - as the bad man reached out and gently played with her hair. Her hair was as beautiful as gold. It was the same color, and just as shiny, if not more._

_"Such pretty hair... It'd be a shame if you'd _die_." She flinched as he said, 'die'. Tears danced across her cheeks. She didn't want to _die_. She didn't want her parents to die, but she just watched them get murdered by this horrible man._

_Oh, God. A terrible truth just crashed down on her. Her parents-_

_"Yes, they're dead."_

_"Ahh!" she screamed, gripping her head, which in turn grabbed his hand. "How can you-"_

_"Sweetheart, I work for an intelligence agency," the bad man told her, "I know almost everything." She was shaking, from fear, from grief, from self pity..._

_She sobbed. Noel couldn't lower her arms. She had a solid grip on her hair, and the bad man's hand. She stared at her feet, tears falling to her shoes. She just couldn't look up at him, the bad man that hurt her family. And she couldn't move._

_He played with her hair a little longer, sometimes brushing her fingers. It felt weird. Her father never played with her hair before. "Well... I have to go. Have a nice rest... Noel." He freed his hand from her grip, and grabbed her shoulder. The bad man shoved her into the wall, so hard she had a concussion._

And the bad man walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Fourteen years later Noel was hired at the Novus Orbis Librarium.

_"Hello, Miss Vermillion. Can I call you Noel?" The man dressed in a black suit and spikey green hair shook hands with Noel Vermillion. "Please, take a seat. I'll be with you shortly."_

_Noel sat down and watched as he left. He was... sexy, in a way. The suit made him look dashing, and the way his fedora was cocked on his head... Noel felt a little dizzy. Why didn't she catch his name?_

_Noel was left to wait for a little while longer. Where was he?_

_After a few more minutes of waiting, the man came back. "I'm sorry that I took so long, Noel," he apologized before taking a seat in the chair across from her, "Anyway, I'm Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Department, and I'll be interviewing you today. Do you have any questions before we begin?"_

_"Uhh... yeah. One," Noel replied timidly, "Have we met before?" All while her lightheadedness, Noel had a feeling of deja vu. She was sure she would remember someone as... handsome as him, but she couldn't tell._

_"I don't believe we have," Hazama replied, "I'd believe I would remember someone as charming as you."_

_Noel felt her cheeks grow a shade redder. "Th-Thank you," she said, clutching her skirt._

_"Let's see..." Hazama moved a few papers around, until he found the one he wanted, "It says here that you graduated from the Military Academy, and that you were appointed by the Imperator herself. Can you explain?"_

_"Yes," Noel took a deep breath, "After my parents died, I had no where else to go. I was about to be released from the hospital. I was there for a concussion I had. The Imperator visited me, telling me that I had the potential to be a great NOL officer." Unbeknownst to her, tears swam down her cheeks._

_Hazama wrote something down. "Have a tissue," he said, leaning over to hand her one, "Let me know when you can continue."_

_Noel took some deep breaths, trying to gain control again. She dabbed at her eyes with the tissues. Her makeup was ruined. "I'm sorry, Captain. I'm not usually like this," Noel said._

_"There's no need to apologize," he said, patiently waiting to continue._

_She took one last breath. "We can go one," she commented. She balled up the tissue, and held it tight in her fist._

_"If you insist," Hazama joked, "Now, you are aware of the purpose of the NOL, correct?"_

_"Yes. They safeguard and control great power sources that could potentially destroy humanity, right?" Noel replied._

_Hazama nodded, and wrote in his notes some more. "Tell me, Noel. Why do you want to join the NOL?" he questioned, leaning back in his chair._

_"Well, ever since my parents died," she tensed up, trying not to cry again, "I... I promised myself I wouldn't watch anyone get hurt anymore!" She shouted her answer a little too loudly._

_Hazama seemed unfazed, bored, even, at her outside voice. "It seems like your qualified. You seem to be a good marksman, too," he commented, "If we except you, you should get a phone call tomorrow. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Noel." He stood up to shake her hand again._

_Noel stood as well. "Thank you." They leaned over the desk, and shook hands. _

_Hazama walked over to the door, and opened it for her. "To be honest, I think you have a very good chance of getting the job," he said._

_"R-Really?" Noel questioned. She didn't really think she was qualified, but if the Imperator thought she had potential, she must be good! They walked into the hallway, and Hazama made sure the door was locked before catching up with her._

_"Yeah," he said, "Say, Noel. Are you in a relationship with anyone?"_

_"H-Huh?" Noel was blushing madly. "N-No." Why was he asking a question like that? To be honest, she never really been on a date before, or even been kissed. Sometimes she felt lonely, but..._

_He laughed. "You look so cute when you're flustered," he said. Noel was speechless, and she was sure her cheeks were bright red._

_"U-Umm..." Noel stuttered. Why was he saying those things? Noel appreciated the compliments, but she wasn't sure if he should be saying them._

_"You have such pretty hair, Noel." A lock of her hair was in her face, and Hazama gently tucked in behind her ear. His hand gently caressed her cheek. Noel flinched, but Hazama was unfazed._

_Noel stared at him, her leaf green eyes staring at his closed eyes. "Captain, I-" but Noel was interrupted by a kiss._

_It felt like forever, but Hazama made sure it only lasted for a few seconds. He gently pulled away, and Noel just stood there, shocked._

_Hazama smirked. "See you at work," he said, and walked away._

And the wonderful man walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Two years after she was hired, Noel learned a horrible truth.

She was waiting in the hallway for Jin to give her next assignment. She sat on a leather sofa reading an old magazine about animals. Noel was humming softly to herself, no set melody. Hazama saw that Noel was on the sofa, and sat down next to her.

"Hello, Noelly," he called her by her nickname, "I need to talk to you about something."

Noel put the magazine down. "You can tell me anything." She gave him a bright smile that could melt anyone's heart. Well, almost anyone's.

"It's about the incident sixteen years ago," Hazama whispered. Noel tensed up, but nodded slightly, letting him go on. "Well, we know who the killer is. He's been living a life a luxury, and feels no remorse." Tears swelled up as he continued. "And he's someone you've known for a while, too."

Noel cried. "Who is it?" she sobbed. She tried to wipe away the tears with the sleeve of her uniform, but the floodgates were nearly unstoppable.

Hazama took off his hat, throwing it somewhere. For the first time since Noel's met him, he opened his eyes. "It's... me!" he shouted. Noel recoiled back, shocked.

"Wh-What?" she replied, "Hazama, you can't joke about this!" She made a grab for his collar, but he moved out of the way.

"It isn't a joke, Noel," he said, seemingly annoyed. How dare he! Noel remembered that feeling of deja vu when she first met him. The voices of Hazama and the killer are the one and the same!

"You... You ruined my life!" She shouted, taking Bolverk out of its holsters. "You killed my family!"

"I was only doing them a favor," he taunted, "They were going to die anyway. Just like you. And Tsubaki. And that squirrel chick. Plus, it took me everything to not go mad when we were 'dating'." He put air quotes around _dating_. "I honestly couldn't tell how they could've dealt with you for eight years. That was eight years too long."

Noel aimed Bolverk, and shot. Hazama was quick, and her anger blinded her aim. "Hahaha! You're supposed to be an expert marksman!" he shouted, "And you can't even hit me!" He round-house kicked her, forcing Noel to crash into a wall. She sunk to the floor. "Use that anger! Chase me!" He quickly ducked into the stairway, climbing up. Noel quickly stood up, and, much to Haz- no... Terumi's delight, she chased him.

He swiftly climbed the stairs, two at a time. Noel climbed them three at a time, tripping too much. All the while, she shot nearly blindly at Terumi. "Hazama! I'll never forgive you, Bastard!" she shouted.

"I get that a lot, y'know," he shouted back, nearly at the roof. After climbing the last stair case, and dodging more bullets from Noel, he finally reached the roof, or the Cauldron.

"Hazama!" She slammed the door open so hard it nearly flew off its hinges. She aimed her revolvers at him, aiming at the head.

"Noel, Noel, Noel," he shook his head, "You aren't going to kill me. You aren't designed to."

"What... do you mean?" Noel, suddenly frightened, didn't realize that her grip on Bolverk was shaking. Her aim was lowered slightly, more towards his stomach.

"Noel, you are inhuman," he said, smiling a grin that scared her, "You are nothing more than a puppet."

"Wha-What? What are you talking about!?" She shouted, readjusting her aim back towards his head. The wind blew, causing a lock of hair to blow into Noel's face.

"Noel, you are the twelfth Murakumo unit," Terumi paused for effect, "You are Mu-12!"

"No... No! Quit telling me lies!" Noel dropped Bolverk, and clutched at her head. It was exactly like when the bad man could read her mind. It was exactly like sixteen years ago. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. Noel couldn't do anything now.

Terumi watched as Noel cried. "Yes. Yes! Cry! Mwa ha ha ha ha! Cry! Let your emotions run wild!" Terumi shouted at her, delighted by her show of emotion. "You're a puppet! Cry! Cry for me, puppet! Show your emotions!"

Noel did. She muttered some ineligible phrases, but just sobbed and sobbed. Hazama... She trusted him! He was her everything! But he... _he_ killed her family! You don't just go around killing people's families!

Bolverk started to glow a brilliant white light. Terumi noticed. "Yes! YES! Show your emotions, _puppet_! Imagine how horrified your friends will be when they learned that you aren't human! What if your parents were alive? How would they feel if they learned that the brat they adopted wasn't human!"

The white light grew. "No! I don't want this! I don't want this!" Noel shouted. The white light consumed her, and for once in her life, she finally felt something that she never felt before. This feeling was robbed of her that day sixteen years ago. She could feel the warm embrace of two people, of whom she recognized immediately.

The feeling was hope. And Noel was finally reunited with her parents.

It was sixteen long years, but she finally felt hope again.


End file.
